NEW GLOUCESTER, Maine — Pineland Farms in New Gloucester is not just home to farm animals but also where you can find a stunning one-acre garden to stroll through. Walk paved paths, picnic under apple trees, or sit on a swing and enjoy the view of more than 130 varieties of perennials, 6,000 flowering annuals, five different blueberry bushes, 20 different apple trees, and an ornamental conifer bed.
"We have weddings over here under the arbor and on the lawn and the fountain backdrops. People like to come over [and] take their pictures around there. Wedding pictures, senior pictures. We do tours and all the people gather round," head gardener Lori Staples said.
Staples revealed she used to come to Pineland Farms as a child to see the fireworks and bands on the Fourth of July. Little did she know she would become the head gardener.
According to its website, Pineland Farms is a 5,000 acre working farm, business campus, and educational and recreational venue owned by October Corporation which is owned by the Libra Foundation. The Libra Foundation is a Maine-based private charitable foundation created by the late Elizabeth B. Noyce. They state their mission is to connect the community to the land through agriculture, education, and recreation.
Pineland's Farms' story began in 1908 when it opened its doors as the Maine School for the Feeble Minded. The state purchased farmland for the purpose of housing people with intellectual disabilities, orphans, and other wards of the state. It also has ties to the Malaga Island saga where residents were forcibly removed from the Maine island. Anna Fiorentino wrote in an article for Maine Magazine that the then Pineland Center, which had been closed for four years, was bought by the Libra Foundation in 2000 for $750,000. Fast forward more than two decades later, the campus is a hub for business, education, and family fun and that includes meandering through the gardens.
A majestic fountain is the garden's centerpiece, but there are other beautiful focal points.
"This is our climbing Hydrangea. It's another beautiful spot where people like to have their picture taken. It's a nice framing focal point," Staples explained. "This has been here since 2001 when they put the original garden in. So what 25 years or so? It's so strong the arbor that it's growing on is falling apart but the hydrangea has taken on that form and made its own arbor. It does like a little bit of sun. Quite a bit of sun."
Staples explained that the Climbing Hydrangea is a vine that grows fast and needs constant pruning.
Another focal point with a sense of humor lives in the conifer bed.
"This is one of the main attractions in our conifer bed. I call it Cousin Itt," Staples joked referring to the classic 60's show "The Adams Family." Staples pointed to a mounded evergreen that had spread far across the ground. "People love it. They've never seen anything like it before," she said.
The aggressively growing conifer has been in the garden for around 20 years and also requires constant pruning to stay off the walkways.
"We like him so we let him do whatever he wants," the head gardener teased.
Within the conifer bed is a Dawn Redwood which drops its needles every winter and will grow to be 60-80 feet tall as well as a colorful Korean Fir which puts out lovely purple pinecones that stand straight up.
Lori finished the tour in one of her favorite spots, the shade garden where you can sit in an Adirondack swing and enjoy the view.
"It has a beautiful focal point of the whole garden. You've got the fountain and the birds are singing. It's very Zen," Staples pondered as she and Todd sat on the swing. "I put some Coleuses in. They'll grow up and you just get a touch of color. Hostas are practical and great to use in the shade."
The Gardens At Pineland Farms are open seven days a week, from 7 a.m. until dusk, and are free to the public. Monthly Garden Tours are offered from June through September. To learn more about the history of Pineland Farms, contact the Pineland Farms Education Department for a "Pineland's Past" field trip; Call (207) 650-3031 or email them at education@pinelandfarms.org.
